Chapter 24 Moving into the County Town
"Brother, are we really going to live here from now on?"
This was Guo Xiaohua's first time in the county town. Ever since she got on the oxcart, she hadn't put down the rag doll she was holding.
But on the way into the city, that mouth could still chatter on and on.
“I’ll be living in the county town from now on, and Atao will definitely be very envious of me.”
"I wonder if there are many people living in the county town, and if I can find another good friend like Atao."
"Brother, brother, can we live in the county town forever from now on?"
However, once they passed through the gate of the county town, the little girl who had been chattering like a little sparrow unconsciously shut her mouth.
When she arrived at the entrance of the "Tongfu Restaurant," which she had only ever heard about from her brother, and saw the imposing gate and the bustling crowd of diners coming and going, Guo Xiaohua didn't dare to even breathe loudly.
She watched with admiration as her brother greeted Uncle Zhao in the restaurant with practiced ease, then handed over the 'white fungus' that her grandmother had mentioned, which was in a wicker basket, in exchange for a heavy coin wrapped in a beautiful purse.
Guo Xiaohua felt that the county town was truly an amazing place.
Even though she didn't get to see what the silver actually looked like, she still received pocket money from her grandmother, more than she had received when she went to the market last time.
That's a full ten copper coins!
Guo Xiaohua touched the copper coin, her eyes crinkling with laughter. This excitement lasted until the three of them arrived at what was supposedly their next place of accommodation, where it instantly reached its peak.
That's why the initial question came about.
After all, this place is just so beautiful!
It's much nicer than the village chief's house, and even more beautiful than the ancestral hall they used to live in!
The path in front of the courtyard is paved with bluestone slabs!
"Don't worry, your brother has already paid the rent. Just relax and live here in peace."
Guo Baiwen led the way, turning back to talk to Guo Xiaohua as he took out his keys and opened the front door of the house.
He has drawn dried white fungus four times in recent days by checking in, each time 500g, which is one jin (500g).
Four catties of dried white fungus can be exchanged for sixteen taels at Tongfu Restaurant.
But he had inquired beforehand and knew that wild white fungus could not be harvested in such large quantities in a single harvest.
After much hesitation, he only took out two jin (1 kg). Unexpectedly, because it was already winter, the price of the white fungus was even higher than before.
The dried shiitake mushrooms that I had saved up before, which I told Grandma Guo I was giving as a thank-you gift, were also given to the restaurant.
He received a total of eleven taels.
He planned to use this as an excuse to say that the house he bought in the county town, along with the storefront, was actually rented.
He had heard from Granny Sun that the rent for that house was around 500 to 600 coins a month, and with the storefront included, the price would only be higher.
But Grandma Guo and Xiaohua hadn't been to the county town much, so no one would directly ask her how much the monthly rent was.
So Guo Baiwen thought about it and decided to tell Grandma Guo that the rent for that house would be half a tael of silver a month.
Tell her again that she should not flaunt her wealth, and that she should not casually tell others how much money she has spent or how much money she has left.
In this way, even if he only said he had rented the house for a year, he would still have five taels of silver left. He could then give this money to Grandma Guo and use it to do some small business at the shop.
We originally planned to move here in the spring, but now, before the New Year holidays, the whole family has moved in.
Looking at the courtyard, Guo Baiwen himself felt a little emotional.
Grandma Guo, looking at such a nice house, became full of energy.
First, they put all the iron pots, seasonings, and grains they had brought into the kitchen.
Seeing that the kitchen had been tidied up neatly, she couldn't stay idle, so she turned around and went to the toilet room under the stairs for a walk.
They marveled at the dry toilet, which even had a seat, for a while.
Before they could even finish admiring it, they suddenly heard Guo Xiaohua scream from upstairs.
The old woman was so frightened that she immediately ran out of the downstairs toilet, shouting, "What's wrong? What's wrong?! What happened?!"
On the stairs, Guo Xiaohua's little face peeked out from behind the railing, her face beaming with an uncontrollable smile. "Grandma! Grandma, come in and take a look!"
Shall we go inside and take a look?
What's so interesting about a room just for sleeping?
Although that's what she thought, after hearing Guo Xiaohua say that, Grandma Guo still turned around and walked towards the room that Guo Baiwen had pointed out to her earlier.
Although many parts of the houses in Guojia Village were damaged, the furniture inside was still in good condition.
Knowing that she would be traveling to the city by oxcart, in addition to her precious grains, she also brought her own large iron pot, soy sauce, vinegar, oil, salt, bedding, and blankets.
Originally, he wanted to bring the bamboo beds and the broken tables and chairs from the house, but Guo Baiwen persuaded him that there were plenty in the county town.
She was worried about this on the way.
Although the tables, chairs and beds at home are a bit old, we are used to them. If we go to the county town and there is nothing there, wouldn't we have to spend a lot of money again?
All those worries vanished after seeing the room full of new furniture.
Grandma Guo felt like she hadn't woken up yet. She couldn't help but touch the carved bed again and again. This bed was even better than the one she received as part of her dowry.
Such a nice bed, it felt brand new to her touch, and it was rented out just like the room itself?!
Guo Baiwen had originally told her that the rent would be half a tael of silver per month. Although she didn't say anything, she still felt that it was a bit expensive.
But it is, after all, a county town, and in such a good location.
But now—
Expensive?! It's such a great deal!
I wonder what the original owner of this house did for a living, that he was so generous!
No wonder Xiaohua screamed like that when she saw her room upstairs.
This little girl has long wanted to have her own room like her brother, but the house they built in Guojia Village doesn't have enough rooms, so she has to keep living with her old lady.
I bet they'd be ecstatic to see their own room with all this new furniture by now.
The room was clean, just a little dusty.
After wetting their cloths and tidying up their respective rooms, it was almost dark.
The Guo family has never had the habit of eating lunch. After a busy day, they were already hungry. Grandma Guo originally suggested that they just make some dough dumplings and make a dumpling soup.
But today is the first day we moved into the county town, and we've moved into such a nice house.
Guo Baiwen didn't want his grandmother to continue working in the kitchen until it got dark, so he suggested that everyone have a meal together in the county town to celebrate the move.
He knew a restaurant that had very good food and wasn't too expensive.
But seeing the expectant look in Guo Xiaohua's eyes, Grandma Guo still shook her head.
"There will be many expenses in the coming days, and even if we're celebrating the move, we don't need to go out to eat."
Seeing Guo Xiaohua looking like a wilted eggplant, she silently lowered her head.
Grandma Guo patted the back of her head and looked at Guo Baiwen with amusement, "Didn't you still not eat the pheasant that the Chen family sent this morning?"
Upon hearing this, Guo Xiaohua immediately raised her head, her dejected look completely gone, and shouted loudly, "Spicy and sour pheasant!"
Guo Baiwen teased her on purpose, "Didn't we agree to eat that pheasant stew with mushrooms?"
The two of them started arguing endlessly about how to eat the pheasant.
Finally, it was Grandma Guo who stopped this endless argument. "I think the pheasant is big enough. How about this, cut it in half, make one half into spicy and sour pheasant, and the other half into pheasant stew with mushrooms!"
"Will we stop arguing now?"
Seeing that the two were still somewhat unwilling, Grandma Guo decisively cut to the chase, "Just do as I say! Both of you, come to the kitchen and help out. Whoever doesn't work, won't get dinner tonight!"
Upon hearing this, the two fell silent.
Grandma Guo breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that her family's life was finally getting better, as they could even enjoy two different kinds of chicken at the same time.
"Xiaohua, go boil some water. Grandma will pluck the chicken feathers and scald them first."
Then she turned her face away and said, "Wenzai, go chop some firewood. After Grandma plucks the chicken feathers, you go and chop the chicken up."
The kitchen in this courtyard is quite spacious; even if three people squeeze in, they can still move around comfortably.
After boiling the water, Xiaohua followed her grandmother's instructions to soak the dried mushrooms she had brought.
The kitchen knife used to be made of ceramic shards, which couldn't be used to chop meat. So Guo Baiwen could only carefully wash the wood-chopping knife and prepare to use it to cut chicken.
First, cut the pheasant in half. The left half is used to make spicy and sour pheasant, so chop it into pieces about two fingers wide and wash it in clean water.
The right half is for making pheasant stew with mushrooms. You can chop it into slightly larger pieces. This half doesn't need to be washed; just put it directly into cold water to blanch it.
The method of stewing chicken is relatively simple. After blanching the chicken until it is almost done, take the meat out and put it into an earthenware pot with ginger slices, add water and simmer over low heat.
You can leave it for now.
What's more troublesome is the spicy and sour pheasant. After the half chicken has been washed almost completely and drained slightly, it's ready to be stir-fried in hot oil.
Once the chicken skin starts to curl slightly and some oil seeps out, immediately pour in homemade pickled chili pepper pieces and a spoonful of chili sauce.
The sour, spicy, and meaty flavors exploded throughout the kitchen. As the broth thickened during simmering, oil was added for seasoning.
If it's your first time cooking in this kitchen, don't worry about the smell being too strong and your neighbors coming over to ask.
Grandma Guo didn't keep any of the food she cooked today.
If you can thicken the sauce at the end, the sour and spicy flavor will coat every piece of meat even more tightly.
But it's okay if you don't have it.
While the fire in the stove below was still burning and the sauce was slowly reducing, Grandma Guo broke the black flour pancakes she had made earlier into pieces the size of a finger and threw them into the pot to cook as well.
While waiting, I opened the earthenware pot again to check the chicken soup inside. When I noticed that the soup was gradually getting darker, I added the soaked dried mushrooms.
The aroma of wild mushrooms made the whole pot of chicken soup taste fresh and delicious.
The soup needed to simmer a little longer, but the spicy and sour pheasant was already ready, so we served the spicy and sour pheasant first.
The tables and chairs in the main room were not yet ready, so the three of them had brought their own stools and were sitting around the empty space next to the stove in the kitchen.
It was a bit crowded, but quite warm.
When the spicy and sour pheasant was served, the glistening chicken pieces were coated in an enticing broth, and the flavors of the chili sauce and pickled peppers made the chicken taste even sweeter and fresher.
The black bread soaked in this broth is also exceptional; it's not only tangy and refreshing but also has a hint of meaty flavor.
Grandma Guo's cooking skills were exceptionally good today. The two siblings, who had been secretly arguing, were now engrossed in eating and had completely forgotten about talking.
Guo Baiwen added a piece of boneless meat to Grandma Guo's bowl, saying, "Grandma, you should eat too."
"Grandma, you can eat too, but your teeth aren't good—eat slowly." Pheasant meat is a bit tough, so she was waiting for the soup to be ready.
Sprinkle with salt, and finally add some chopped green onions. The mushroom caps have absorbed the flavor of the chicken soup, and there will be a few drops of oil clinging to the edges.
The chicken in this pot was stewed until it was so tender that even Grandma Guo's teeth could easily bite into it.
Pheasant and mushrooms don't need many seasonings; they're delicious on their own.
She took a sip of soup and couldn't help but exclaim, "On the first day of moving, everyone should eat well!"
A note from the author:
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I'm so hungry! I'm on a diet lately, and I feel lightheaded while typing this.
Waaaaah, I really want to add this to my collection! [Laughing and crying while covering face]
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